The end of the minor league season is now in sight as it is just five weeks away, and in today’s week opening edition of Minor Happenings the IBI's Tony Lastoria takes a look at the dominating performance of Danny Salazar and how good he is and how the Indians are using him. He also explains the minor league promotion process with why some guys are not promoted when they may be playing well, and also provide lots of news and insights into players like Juan Diaz, Kyle Bellows, Tyler Naquin, LeVon Washington, Ben Heller, Casey Shane and more.

What a strong month it has been for short season Single-A Mahoning Valley's Nellie Rodriguez who has turned his season around after a disappointing campaign the first two months of the year with Low-A Lake County. The IBI's Michael Hattery recaps the big night from Rodriguez, Clint Frazier, Joey Wendle and many others in another edition of Around the Farm...

Thanks to a few lucky breaks in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Columbus Clippers nudged the Durham Bulls 3-2 Friday. After a rough beginning at the Triple-A level this season, T.J. House has turned things around as of late. In his last four starts, he has accumulated a 2-1 record with a 1.50 ERA.

We all know Francisco Lindor is an elite player, but watching his video game numbers pile up upon his promotion to Double-A is an entirely new level of dominance. Lindor did show his human side a little bit Thursday -- striking out for the first time -- but he more than made up for it in power. To read about Lindor's night, a Mahoning Valley infielder showing he can hit, and much more, join Jim Piascik as he takes you Around The Farm.

Columbus fell into a three-game losing streak Thursday afternoon, losing to the Buffalo Bisons 7-6. After carrying a three run lead for three innings, the Bisons rallied in the ninth inning, scoring four runs to win the game.

In today’s second edition of Minor Happenings for the week, Tony takes an in-depth look at some of the hot prospects in the organization. He provides some insight into the season that outfielder LeVon Washington has had and when and where he will be promoted, provides some comments from Ross Atkins on a very talented Carolina Mudcats roster, reviews the hot start by shortstop Francisco Lindor at Akron and his major league time clock, provides insight into outfielder Clint Frazier’s pro debut and how the Indians are handling him, and discusses infielder Joe Sever who is an emerging prospect in the system.

Pitching has been the name of the game for the Clippers as the second-half of their season has gotten off to a promising 4-3 start. They could easily be 7-0 as their losses came by three runs or less (two of them were by a one-run deficit). With a limited offense, the pitching staff is key and if they keep the runs down, Columbus has a shot of making a late-season push for the playoffs. The IBI's Ethan Day recaps the week that was for the Clippers...

Wednesday night was a good night in the organization, and not just because the major league club won. See, Wednesday night was #WashTime, as the outfielder made his presence known in Arizona. In addition to #WashTime, the organization also had some Tyler Naquin, a little Eric Haase, and much more. To read all about the night in the minor leagues, join Jim Piascik as he takes you Around The Farm.

The Columbus Clippers fell for the second night in a row to the Buffalo Bisons Wednesday, 3-2. Fielding errors and cold bats handicapped the Clippers Wednesday night, giving pitchers little room for error.

In this week’s edition of Minor Happenings, Tony takes a look at the continued strong performance of Double-A Akron lefty Matt Packer and his major league future, provides some comments from Ross Atkins on some players at rookie level Arizona, and some news and insights into players such as Carlos Moncrief, Jose Ramirez, Bryson Myles, Nellie Rodriguez, Matt LaPorta, LeVon Washington and more.

BUFFALO- With both offenses being unproductive, pitching was left with little room for error Tuesday night at Coca-Cola Field. The Buffalo Bisons got the upper hand and scored two runs in the sixth inning and then two more in the eighth to defeat the Columbus Clippers 4-1.

An all-out offensive assault by the Clipper bats and right-hander Trevor Bauer’s first complete game of the season powered Columbus over the Buffalo Bisons 10-3 in the first contest of a four-game series Monday.

Triple-A Columbus right-handed reliever Matt Langwell earned his first call to the big leagues back on June 1st and has since bounced back and forth between Cleveland and Columbus on the I-71 shuttle. He is an interesting bullpen option for the Indians and one that could maybe someday lock himself into a permanent role in middle relief or possibly as a setup man. The IBI's Ethan Day recently caught up with him to see how things are going since being sent back down.

It only took a little less than seven hours but the Columbus Clippers finally seized a 1-0 victory in 13 innings over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs Saturday. With the contest scoreless going into the 13th inning, Columbus right fielder Matt Carson blasted a solo home run to straight away center to give the Clippers a 1-0 win against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs Saturday.

Triple-A Columbus infielder Cord Phelps has grown up in the Indians system and has continued to improve every year in different aspects of his game. While he has battled a few injuries this season, when he has played he has performed well. A new challenge the Indians threw his way this season was his first exposure to first base and left field, and the IBI's Adrienne Robbins recently caught up with him to see how the transition to both positions is going.

The Cleveland organization got homer-happy Thursday night, as Lake County led the way with four home runs on their own. None of those shots could overshadow what happened with Carolina, however, as the team hit their first walk-off home run of the season. To find out walked off for the Mudcats and everything else you need to know about the night in the minor leagues, join Jim Piascik and go Around The Farm.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!